Razom, with the support of Howard G. Buffett Foundation’s $1.6M Grant, Enhances Ukrzaliznytsia’s Emergency Response Capabilities

Published: June 5, 2024

Last month, Razom proudly announced a $1,620,000 grant from Howard G. Buffett Foundation to support the Razom Heroes emergency medicine program. This partnership aims to significantly boost Ukraine’s emergency medical response, particularly focusing on Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways).

This initiative includes 32 training sessions planned for May and June 2024, aiming to equip 700 Ukrzaliznytsia staff – including train managers, conductors, station personnel, and even administrative workers – with critical first-aid skills. To further support their emergency response capabilities, 700 individual first-aid kits and 100 advanced rescue kits will be distributed.

With 9 training sessions already completed and 172 participants trained, this program is making a significant impact on Ukrzaliznytsia’s ability to provide timely and effective medical care during emergencies.

Razom remains steadfast in its mission to support Ukraine’s emergency response capabilities. The grant and the support from Howard G. Buffett Foundation is crucial in making a significant impact. Together, we are enhancing the ability of Ukraine’s first responders to save lives and provide critical support during emergencies. Thank you for your unwavering support of Ukraine and helping us make a difference!

Razom Relief: Helping Liberated Ukrainians Regrow Their Lives

Published: June 4, 2024

Residents in liberated areas of Ukraine once thrived on their farms. Now, they face a fight to rebuild. Their land is damaged, and getting food is a constant worry.

In partnership with Rescue Now, one of our grantees on the ground in Ukraine, we launched the Reroot Project. We’re distributing seeds and potatoes and empowering people to grow their own crops, thereby reducing their dependence on aid.

This initiative goes beyond a simple handout and aims to make communities more self-sufficient. Raising their own crops helps households save costs for the family, making local supply of food available, even during emergencies or breakdowns in supply, or power outages. This way it contributes to a more stable food supply and minimizes the dependency on outside food support. Thus, private farming is one of the key reasons people stay or return to their homes, as it is one of the main sources for living there. In the rural areas of Ukraine, knowledge about sustainable farming practices is passed down from generation to generation, fostering a viable and self-sufficient culture. This program also promotes teamwork, builds up ties within the community, and fosters communication across households via creating additional group channels of communication; people share their experiences and support each other via these channels.

Meet the People We’re Helping

Natalia, a resident with mobility challenges, faced immense hardship during the occupation. Sheltering from shelling and bombings, access to food became a constant worry. Now, with seeds and potatoes provided by Razom Relief, Natalia can slowly rebuild her vegetable garden. This not only provides food security but also a sense of purpose and hope for the future.

Nataliya Hryhorivna, a 74-year-old pensioner, recounts the struggle to find planting materials under occupation. Despite the danger, she tended her garden, determined to have a source of food. Now, liberated and with access to seeds, she looks forward to a brighter future for herself and Ukraine.

Bilokudrya Svitlana, a community representative, describes the eight brutal months of occupation. Gardening became not only difficult but dangerous due to shelling. Essential utilities like electricity, water, and gas were also disrupted. Razom Relief’s assistance provides a lifeline, allowing the community to rebuild their gardens and hope for a victorious future.

Razom Relief, alongside our partners, is helping communities harmed by past Russian occupation regrow not just their crops, but their path to renewal. Together, we can help Ukraine blossom again.

Donate to Razom Relief today and empower families to reroot their lives!

We invite you to learn more and support Razom’s Relief Program.

International Day for the Protection of Children

Published: June 1, 2024

June 1st is the International Day for Protection of Children. Nowadays, Ukraine’s children fight for a stolen childhood. For ten years, Ukrainian kids have been losing loved ones to the war in the East and for over two years, Russia has been actively committing atrocities, killing children daily and forcibly taking them from their families. This is not just a tragedy, it is genocide.

At Razom, we are dedicated to supporting and protecting these children through various projects and initiatives.

🔹 #RazomRelief

Future Project:

By supporting camps and centers for kids and teenagers, we aim to provide more than just education, skills, and safety in high-risk areas. Our goal is also to prevent young people from losing their sense of direction. Supporting these kids today means creating a healthier future populace who will be able to contribute to a stable and renewed country.

Razom Toy Drive:

The children of fallen defenders in Ukraine are under constant stress and in dire need of help. The Razom Toy Drive team is committed to wrapping these children’s hearts with warmth and love, recognizing their immense courage and resilience in the face of war. Read more: here

Razom Ticket:

This initiative aims to increase engagement in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines among Ukrainian children. We strive to provide a head start for kids in the world of professional science, IT, and entrepreneurship. Read more: here

🔹 #RazomHealth

The Co-Pilot Project: We have brought, and continue to bring doctors on mission trips to Ukraine to operate on children and save lives, ensuring they receive the medical care they desperately need. Read more: here

Razom z Toboyu (Razom with You): This network of centers is designed to provide mental health support to individuals, both children and adults, who have been affected by war. Read more: here

🔹 #RazomAdvocacy

We are actively speaking out against the forcible and illegal deportation of Ukrainian kids by Russia, bringing international attention to these heinous acts. Read more: here

Your support is crucial in helping us continue these vital projects. Together, we can make a difference and offer support to the youngest victims of this war.

Donate to Razom and help us support and empower Ukrainian children.

Ilya Kaminsky with Yulia Musakovska and Olena Jennings at NYPL: In the Hour of War

Published: May 31, 2024

On May 9th, Ukrainian poetry was heard at the NYPL’s Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library. The New York Public Library (NYPL), Manhattan’s largest circulating library, was recently renovated with a generous gift from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation and is a prime location for popular literary events in its 7th-floor terraced space.

Razom has been developing Ukrainian literary events with the librarians here for over a year. This was our second collaboration with them, following t last fall’s Ukrainian Cultural Festival, which featured writers Olena Stiazhkina, Andriy Kurkov, and Oksana Lutsyshyna.

At the center of this event were two books of poetry from Arrowsmith Press: Yulia Musakovska‘s first collection in English, The God of Freedom, and an anthology of Ukraine’s best poetry, In the Hour of War, co-edited by Ilya Kaminsky and Carolyn Forché. Both collections underscore the urgency of hearing poetry from a land devastated by war, affecting people, buildings, animals, and nature.

The anthology features the work of many poets and translators. Ilya Kaminsky presented his translations of Lesyk Panasiuk, Ostap Slyvynsky, Dmitry Blizniuk, and Anastasia Afanasieva, while Olena Jennings, a NY-based poet and translator, presented her translations of Kateryna Kalytko and Iryna Shuvalova. Photos of the poets were displayed on large screens in the auditorium, creating a visual presence in the room.

Unfortunately, the duration of the event was limited – we could have read and discussed poetry and the war in Ukraine for hours more! This is why Razom plans to host additional literary events and why we recommend purchasing these books.

Ilya Kaminsky spoke warmly about Razom’s work in Ukraine and shared feedback he has received during his frequent travels there. He also mentioned his work with a children’s poetry club in Odesa. One short poem by a very young Odesa-based poet was read, which was incredible.

More on the Speakers:

Yuliya Musakovska is an award-winning Ukrainian poet and translator who lives in Lviv, Ukraine. She is the author of five poetry collections, with a sixth on the way. The God of Freedom was published in Ukrainian in 2021 and has recently been published by Arrowsmith Press. Her poems have been translated into over thirty languages. She is fluent in English and Swedish and has translated poetry from these languages, including the works of Tomas Tranströmer.

Olena Jennings is a co-translator of The God of Freedom. Olena is a NY-based writer, poet, and translator who has significantly contributed to bringing Ukrainian poetry to American readers. In addition to Yuliya’s poems, she read her translations of Kateryna Kalytko and Iryna Shuvalova. Olena is the founder and curator of the Poets of Queens reading series and press.

Ilya Kaminsky was born in Odesa, Ukraine, and now lives in the United States. He is the author of two poetry collections, Dancing in Odesa and Deaf Republic, which came out in 2019 and was featured on many best poetry lists that year. He is a professor at Princeton University. Ilya co-founded Young People’s Poems Against Missiles, a program in Odesa that supports young and very young poets. As the program movingly states, Poems can allow young people to articulate themselves when they are in bomb shelters.” In 2023, he co-edited In the Hour of War with Carolyn Forché, a collection of poetry from Ukraine.